Spirit Airlines is now the subject of two suitors, Frontier Airlines, and JetBlue, who both hope to snap up the Miramar Florida-based low-cost carrier (LCC). Sprit’s Board has now acknowledged that JetBlue’s offer might be 'superior.'
On Thursday (April 7, 2022), Spirit Airlines announced that after consultation with the airline’s outside consultants, the unsolicited April 6, 2022, offer from JetBlue for the acquisition of Spirit Airlines for $33.00/share in cash might be ‘superior’ to Frontier Airlines’ February 7, 2022 proposal. Therefore, the company has agreed to engage with JetBlue regarding the proposal in accordance with the terms of their previously announced combination with Denver-based Frontier Airlines announced on February 7, 2022.
In Spirit Airlines, Inc’s April 7, 2022 press release, the company said, in part,
“Spirit intends to engage in discussions with JetBlue with respect to JetBlue's proposal, in accordance with the terms of the Company's merger agreement with Frontier. Spirit remains bound by the terms of the merger agreement with Frontier, and Spirit's Board has not determined that JetBlue's proposal in fact constitutes a Superior Proposal as defined in the merger agreement with Frontier. In addition, Spirit notes that there can be no assurance that the discussions with JetBlue will result in a transaction. Spirit shareholders do not need to take any action at this time, and Spirit's Board has made no change to its recommendation that its shareholders adopt the merger agreement with Frontier…”
In a separate announcement today (April 7, 2022), in response to Spirit Airlines Board’s interest in further exploring JetBlue’s proposal, JetBlue Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Robin Hayes, said,
“We are pleased the Spirit Board recognizes the compelling value for all stakeholders that JetBlue has offered. We believe JetBlue is the best partner for Spirit, and we look forward to engaging with the Spirit Board to finalize our combination, to create a national low-fare challenger to the four large dominant U.S. carriers that will result in lower fares and better service for customers. As a combined company, we expect we will be able to deliver superior value on a national scale to customers, crewmembers, communities, and shareholders.”
JetBlue is ‘New York’s Hometown Airline®’ and a leading carrier in Boston (BOS), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO) and San Juan (SJU). The airline carries guests to destinations across the U.S., Caribbean, Latin America and London (Heathrow and Gatwick). JetBlue Airways Corporation trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBLU.
Miramar, Florida-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to offering the best value in the sky with service to destinations in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airline allows customers to select and pay for only the products and services they want, something they call “À La Smarte.” Spirit also operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. The carrier proudly calls their youthful fleet of aircraft their “Fit Fleet®.” Spirit Airlines will add 24 new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neos to their fleet in 2022.
Source(s): Spirit Airlines/PRNewswire, JetBlue Airways/Businesswire